Road Crews Ready as Uncertain Weather Approaches

Road Crews Ready as Uncertain Weather Approaches

City of St. Joseph and MoDOT both say they're ready for whatever our approaching winter storm may bring. Freezing rain possible late tonight, then chances of snow coming for Saturday.

(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) Though St. Joseph road crews were working in only light sweatshirts on a mild day, they are preparing for a bast of winter.

"Sounds like we might get some action this weekend," said Keven Schneider, Assistant Supervisor of Streets and Sewers for the City of St. Joseph.

A one-two punch of freezing rain late Thursday night could come before snow this weekend.

"Tonight we'll have the salt and spreaders mounted, trucks all plugged in and ready to go," Schneider said.

MoDOT will be watching their highways also.

""We'll have a couple of trucks out just kind of looking at some of the spots," said Tony McGaughy, Assistant District Engineer for MoDOT.

What makes storms tricky this time of year is how unpredictable they can be as temperatures drop.

"It's going to start raining first," McGaughy said. "You really can't get out there and treat the roads. We don't want to have to put it down and have it washed off the streets. So you just really need to play it by ear and just keep an eye on the conditions of the road."

Last weekend's freezing rain was especially treacherous for drivers. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says there were ten fatalities blamed on slick highways.

"I think always the first bad storm of the year catches people off guard," said Sgt. Sheldon Lyon with the patrol. "They're still driving like their summer habits. They forget how dangerous how bad the roads can become when the bad weather moves in with a winter storm."

As road crews prepare, everyone is wondering what kind of winter it's going to be.

"The rule of thumb is you have one or two storms in between Christmas. This could possibly be our third already," Schneider said.

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